Ray Eads simply sat and listened.

He asked no questions and offered no advice.

As Aqua Illinois is expanding its water treatment plant in the Kankakee Riverview neighborhood along Cobb Boulevard, Eads is aware the estimated $18-million expansion will go on where he likes it or not.

It would be fair to say he doesn’t like it, but the former Kankakee Valley Park District board member knows there is little he can do.

“It certainly won’t increase my property value,” he said following the one-hour meeting between Aqua and Kankakee 6th Ward residents who are neighbors to the ever-growing water plant.

“I’m trying to make best of a bad situation,” the 79-year-old Eads said shortly after the meeting concluded. “They seem to be willing to work with us. We will see.”

He added: “Where am I going to go to get what I have here?” he rhetorically asked regarding his stately house at 1236 Cobb Boulevard.

Currently in the early design phase for the storage building which will become Eads neighbor, Aqua Illinois President Dave Carter sought to explain what the company needs are for the plant along the Kankakee River.

A crowd of about 60 – the vast majority being 6th Ward residents, the ward in which the Aqua plant is located –gathered inside the Kankakee railroad depot as to why and when this latest Aqua project is needed.

The company, Carter said, has invested some $56 into the Kankakee operations since 2017 and “we have much more to do.”

Simply put, he said, the investments are needed to increase the company’s reliability for providing quality water for more than 100,000 people here and to modernize the site’s equipment.

Move the plant?

Carter noted the company pulls upwards of 14 million gallons of Kankakee River water daily to supply its users. During summer months, consumption rising to between 18- to 20-million gallons daily – largely due to watering lawns.

For those in the audience concerned the river may run dry, Carter noted some 3 billion gallons of water pours over the Kankakee River dam daily.

Of the 32 Aqua Illinois water system, Kankakee’s is one of two surface water treatment plants, the other being in Vermilion County near Danville where it gains water from the Vermilion River.

One audience member questioned why the company simply doesn’t relocate the site away from residents? This move, said Steve Emme, would remove these issues.

Carter said while that may seem simply, the expense would be enormous. Off the top of his head, such a move would require at least $500 million.

Such a move, he said, is not up for any consideration.

He said Illinois Commerce Commission approval would be needed for such a move and investment and project OKs require rigorous cost justifications.

The plant has been along Cobb Boulevard since 1886, a span of 140 years.

System in need

During a PowerPoint presentation, the Kankakee plant was described as a system in need.

Basically, Carter said, the system faces aging infrastructure/equipment; changing/increasing Illinois Environmental Protect Agency regulations; maintaining operations during active improvements; and limited real estate.

Regarding the pending project, Carter said the design will take the next several months to complete and upwards of 18 months or more for construction

The construction would like to begin in spring 2027 and be finished by late 2028 or early 2029.

This timeline had the same appeal as a cold shower to those gathered.

The project will relocate several plant functions and chemicals under one roof. He said the benefit of consolidating these functions under one roof is its frees up space in the approximate 3-block-long plant.

He noted the company must be strategic about its land use because it has a limited among and the house which was demolished only a few weeks ago was the last property the company owns on either side of the plant.

Carter said Aqua makes upgrades because the IEPA continues to expand regulation dealing involving water quality.

Another top-of-mind concern is the physical condition of Cobb Boulevard. Audience members voiced numerous complaints.

He indicated this was the first time he had heard of this complaint.

While he noted the company certainly doesn’t own the road, Aqua repairs damage to streets when it digs into them. He wasn’t sure what the company would or could do about this matter, but he said he was willing to talk about it.

He did note the roads should be constructed to handle truck traffic.

The meeting was coordinated by 6th Ward reps Mike Cobbs and Kelly Johnson.

Said Johnson after the meeting: “This area was built as a neighborhood, not an industrial zone.”